You Give Love A Bad Name
by Ace of Hearts
Summary: After Stephanie's disastrous divorce from Hunter and subsequent booting from the company, the men from her past take the time to contemplate their relationships with the woman known as the Billion Dollar Princess.
1. Prologue

*The prologue is set right before the three-way match for the Undisputed Title where Stephanie got kicked out of the WWF; the rest of the story will take place afterwards.* 

* * *

Prologue: Beautiful

_She wears a coat of color_   
_Loved by some, feared by others_   
_She's immortalized_   
_In young men's eyes_

People had once told her that it was very lonely at the top. Countless others had warned that once one reached the top, there was simply no other place to go but down. Stephanie McMahon--no longer Helmsley--smiled sadistically as she absently pulled up one of her black elbow pads. Well, she thought to herself in satisfaction, she had certainly proved that latter group of naysayers dead wrong. Not only had she blazed to the top of the company she now ruled in a path of fury, but she had managed to hold on to that spot tenaciously, sometimes even painfully. 

But the price of power she had to pay was dear. In a period of merely...what, two, three years, she had lost the men she loved the most in her mad quest to reach the top. Her first love now positively hated her guts, her initially successful marriage was destined to end in a bitter divorce, and as soon as she met someone whom she truly felt comfortable with, her lust for power and vengeance had pretty much ruined the chances of their pursuing a relationship together. And now...now she was once again locked in a relationship. But unlike the previous ones, there was more hatred than anything else involved in said relationship. A love-hate business partnership with a man infamous for his ruthlessness and dirty, underhanded tactics in the business. How...romantic, Stephanie thought to herself dryly. As she finished getting ready for her match and exited her dressing room, the woman once affectionately referred to by loved ones--back when she still had loved ones--as Steph, wondered when exactly did this all begin. 

* * *

It had all started with Test. Stephanie was barely out of college when she'd joined the World Wrestling Federation to work for her father and his company. Freshly graduated from school, she had possessed a contagious enthusiasm for the business, eager to prove her worth, not to mention demonstrate that nepotism wasn't the reason she'd been hired into the WWF as soon as she was eligible. 

Unfortunately, despite the fact that she was pretty much universally liked back then, her last name still made others wary when it came to genuinely getting close to her. Needless to say, Stephanie had been reasonably surprised when someone had had the courage and guts to approach her. A tall, muscular blonde named Andrew Martin...or rather, Test, as the public came to know him. Stephanie had been shy at first, but eventually, she'd realized that Andrew was approaching her for the sake of getting to know her better, and not to take advantage of her McMahon last name. A sweet friendship had blossomed between the youthful couple, and Andrew, not at all fazed by the fact that Stephanie was the boss's daughter, sought out a genuine romantic relationship with her. Stephanie had been thrilled, her mother, somewhat wary...but her father and brother Shane were a different story. 

Despite the bluntly unmasked disapproval of her family, Stephanie was nevertheless living a dream. Her relationship with Andrew was as strong as ever, her mother seemed less disapproving than the male McMahons...and there was even talk of a certain diamond ring coming into play. And then, just when Mr. McMahon and Shane had finally stopped trying to break up the young couple and grudgingly accepted their impending marriage, a certain clique within the WWF roster rose to power, and on that particular day--or rather, night--Stephanie's perfect little world had been shattered as easily as glass. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley, the notoriously manipulative leader of D-Generation X, had a reputation for being one of the most feared men in the industry. He was ruthless, he was arrogant, he was self-centered, and he was one of the dirtiest players in the game...along with being immensely charismatic and intelligent, with an unnerving way of getting whatever he wanted. And what the former New England blueblood wanted was power, and what better way to get it than by controlling his equally cunning boss through the one thing he treasured above others? Hunter had promptly seduced Stephanie, not with his looks, but rather, with the prospect of power, and it was there that the cunning, manipulative McMahon streak in "Steph" kicked in. She broke Andrew's heart, sent her father packing by announcing her shocking alliance with Hunter via matrimony, and in one day sold her soul to the devil--in the form of a tall, charismatic, blonde wrestling Superstar--exchanging the two men she loved the most for unprecedented power. 

But a union brought together merely by a lust for power and vengeance couldn't possibly hold out forever. Tension in the marriage began to creep through after little more than a year, when a young hotshot joined the WWF. His name was Kurt Angle, he was a genuine Olympic gold medalist, and had an air of almost child-like innocence and naïveté about him. Even the cold, unloving Stephanie had been charmed by his genuine innocence and friendliness, and set out to do the most she could to help him out, because she "thought he was too cute". Needless to say, her dashing husband wasn't exactly too pleased with her growing friendship with Kurt, which bore such a resemblance to his wife's early relationship with Test, it was almost eerie. Jealousy and tension nearly tore the McMahon-Helmsley union apart, but neither member of the--now it couldn't even be called marriage, it was more like a business partnership--was willing to let anything get in the way of their power trip. Despite the increased friendliness, and sometimes, downright flirting, between Stephanie and Kurt, the McMahon-Helmsley power trip plowed ruthlessly on, creating a path of destruction on whichever competition dared stand in their way. 

Eventually, Stephanie's downright manipulative and backstabbing ways would ruin her blossoming relationship with Kurt Angle. As much as she hated to admit it, she was simply unwilling to give up the power she held for affection, and had broken off her relationship with Kurt. It was probably the most painful thing she had ever had to do--even more devastating than breaking the heart of her first love, Test--but eventually, Kurt's wounds healed. He was now happily married to whom Stephanie bitterly deemed as the luckiest woman in the world, and there were strong rumors circulating around backstage that he might soon be a father--it was the life she had always dreamed of, with a loving husband by her side and a child she could call her own, and she had thrown it all away in exchange for more power. Kurt had since broken away from the McMahon-Helmsley powerhouse, occasionally approaching Stephanie in the name of friendship but making damn sure he didn't stray close enough to be burned for the second time. 

But even breaking up with Kurt Angle was unable to stop the McMahon-Helmsley union from blazing down its destruction course, and after the whole false pregnancy fiasco, the two had finally split up. Despite an initial bout of hysteria, Stephanie had been unfazed by the divorce, and had simply agreed to the business partnership proposed by another man deemed one of the dirtiest players in the game: arrogant, self-centered pretty boy Chris Jericho. Before their alliance, the flashy Canadian Superstar had shared a very much enviable relationship with Stephanie--one that included degrading insults and screamed arguments. But as soon as Hunter had kicked Stephanie to the curb, the woman known as the Billion Dollar Princess knew that she would need a valuable business partner and ally if she wanted to compete against Hunter and make his life a living hell. And, despite the fact that she hated his very entity, Chris Jericho was that man. The duo had eventually joined together in a business deal, much like the one Stephanie had originally shared with Hunter, and soon, the two were locked in a love-hate relationship filled with spite, lust, power, and vengeance. 

* * *

Now, a twenty-five-year-old Stephanie McMahon waited rather impatiently for her music, the signal that told her it was time to walk out from behind the curtain and into an arena filled with twenty thousand people who hated her very being, to start. She was at the top. She had done it without the help of any man--not even Hunter, and most certainly not Jericho--and she knew that there was no way she was going down any time soon. She had all the power in the world...and yet no one to share it with. As she heard the opening chords to _My Time_ start and the ring announcer declare the three-way Undisputed Championship match, Stephanie once again thought about the phrase of how power and loneliness went hand in hand. Shrugging her slim shoulders, she decided to brush it off, deeming the championship match, with its special stipulations, to be more important. _It was my decision, _Stephanie thought to herself, as she walked out from under the TitanTron and head toward the ring. _I was the one who wanted this. I might have had to sacrifice a lot of things to get to where I am, but now that I am here, there is nothing that I would do differently. This was my decision. This was my sacrifice._

_In your mind she's your companion_   
_Vile instincts often candid_   
_Your regret_   
_Is all that's left_


	2. Part One

Part One: You Give Love A Bad Name

_You paint your smile on your lips_   
_Blood red nails on your fingertips_   
_A school boy's dream, you act so shy_   
_Your very first kiss was your first kiss good-bye_

Test watched in vengeful satisfaction on the locker room's small TV screen, as Security hauled a screaming and kicking Stephanie away from the WWF ring. A smirk decorated his lips, as he viewed the Princess being dragged away, while back in the squared circle, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a.k.a. Triple H, led the gleeful crowd in singing the rather annoying Good-bye song to his soon-to-be-ex-wife. To a stranger who wasn't aware of Stephanie's true colors, it must have been a rather pitiful and sympathetic sight to see this beautiful and seemingly helpless young woman being roughly booted off from the arena. But Test was no stranger to the billion dollar bitch and her conniving ways, and surprised even himself when he discovered that there wasn't a single hint of neither pity nor sympathy at the pathetic sight, only a deep, vengeful satisfaction. He might have gone along with Stephanie during the Invasion days, but now that his stint with the Alliance was over and the Princess was no longer his boss, Test was free to hate his former fiancée as much as he wished. 

But it hadn't always been that way. As impossible as it seemed--sometimes even to Test himself--there had once been a time during which Stephanie was his life, his love, his very soul. Was it really only...what, two, three years ago, that the woman known as Stephanie Marie McMahon was the sweet, innocent young girl who had a beaming smile and welcoming hug for everyone? And was it really that long ago that Test had been willing to do everything in his power for her? She had meant everything to him, and although he now liked to think of his early relationship with Stephanie as the biggest, dumbest mistake he'd ever made in his life, there was still a part of him that stubbornly declared if he could go into the past, there wasn't a thing he would do differently...and that included getting close to the little princess. 

* * *

The veterans backstage all saw potential in him to some day become one of the biggest Superstars in the World Wrestling Federation. Stay focused, they would tell him. Train as hard as you can, don't let an occasional loss every now and then get you down, don't get into trouble, kid, work on your technical skills...and stay away from the McMahons. Whatever you do, don't let any of them ensnare you. Because he respected the old-timers, and because he had been young and ambitious, and eager to prove his worth to the company, he had dutifully followed their advice down to the tiniest detail...and carefully avoided getting too close with a member of the McMahon family. After all, that was what everybody was telling him, and from the battles he'd witnessed between Mr. McMahon and DX, he was beginning to see why he'd always been warned to stay away from the first family of sports entertainment. 

But a certain little princess's arrival into the company had changed all that. Nowadays, Stephanie was known for being the curvaceous and coldly beautiful heiress to the throne that was the World Wrestling Federation, but back then, she was a shy, sweet young girl, with a friendly smile and ready hug for anyone and everyone. That was what had drawn Test to her in the first place. Stephanie McMahon might not have been one of the more exotic divas in the WWF, but she possessed a natural charm and innocence, and to him, those qualities alone had made her the most beautiful diva in the entire company. 

And yet how could he approach her? Granted, as far as he knew, Stephanie didn't have a significant other...but she was also a McMahon. And backstage, there was an unspoken rule that you don't date the boss's daughter. Hell, you don't even date the boss's son: as far as Test knew, most of the divas, no matter how outrageously flirtatious they were, were still somewhat intimidated by Shane McMahon's name and status to chase after him. And that was a male McMahon. How was he to go after Vince's precious little baby girl without getting his head cut off? Well, apparently, he had been smitten enough to try--and probably dumber than he'd ever really cared to admit--but finally, he had gotten the courage from God only knew where to approach Stephanie...all in the name of friendship, of course. Of course. He might have been more naïve than he was today, but he was still not dumb enough to have Shane and his Mean Street Posse going after his ass for dating Shane's baby sister. If he wanted to really pursue a relationship with Stephanie, he was going to have to do it the smart, safe way, and slowly ease into it with casual friendship being the first step. 

And Stephanie had gladly accepted his friendship. She was new in the company, a fresh face, and had no one with whom she was really close except her family. The rest of the Superstars had shied away from her due to her name, and the poor girl had been starved for a hand of friendship. Test had also suspected that, back then, Stephanie was probably a bit taken with him as well. And, not to be bragging or anything, but he certainly shouldn't have been as surprised and secretly thrilled as he had been when he'd first realized that. Now that he thought about it...why shouldn't she have been smitten by him? After all, he was tall, he was in great shape, he was great-looking--in his humble opinion, certainly much better-looking than the bastards she'd chosen over him ever since they'd broken up, including the likes of Triple H (naturally) and Kurt Angle (what the hell had she been snorting to have ever possibly seen anything in the pompous dork, anyway?). 

But, getting back to the subject at hand, yeah, back then, he had been equally lovestruck. He must have been more stupid than he really cared to recall, if he had fallen for the sweet, innocent, girl-next-door facade that Stephanie upheld. Now that he thought about it, it seemed as though every favorite-little-sister type character turned out to be a bitch at heart...just look at the supposedly perky, innocent little Miss Molly Holly. Hell, she'd even gone and copied Stephanie's hair color! He probably should have warned the little runt, Spike Dudley...but then again, he'd never liked the pipsqueak. That, and it wasn't fair to him, because he'd never gotten any warning about Stephanie McMahon. Two, three years earlier, he had been so sickeningly, disgustingly in love with Stephanie, that he'd practically thrown away his career for her. After all, she was daddy's little girl, and when daddy doesn't approve of the man his baby daughter's dating, daddy makes said boyfriend's life a living hell. 

Despite Vince and Shane's best efforts, their most outrageous attempts at breaking up the happy couple of Test and Stephanie only made the latter two strive even harder for their relationship to work. They'd secretly thought of their relationship in an almost Romeo and Juliet-esque light...except that Test didn't have any influential family members to counter Daddy Vince and Big Brother Shane's shameless antics at shredding the perfectly fine relationship. Nevertheless, the brutal disapproval of the male McMahons only served to strengthen their relationship, and, grudgingly, eventually, Vince and Shane had finally learned to reluctantly accept the fact that their daughter was dating one of their wrestlers. 

Test had been so happy to have finally earned their grudging approval. Now that he looked back on it, he had no idea why--after all, Hunter had married Stephanie and received hell for it from the male McMahons, and look at where he was now. But, apparently, back then, he had been stupid enough to try and be one of the "good guys". And, just like most of the "good guys", he'd eventually ended up getting screwed over--big time. He didn't know that, of course. All that he did know was that he'd decided like an idiot that being with Stephanie McMahon for the rest of his life would be wedded bliss, and desperately wanted to marry her. He had also been desperately hoping that she wouldn't turn him down, so, in an effort to better his chances, he'd gotten down on one knee like some romantic fool, and proposed to her in the middle of the ring, hoping that she wouldn't turn him down in front of the fifteen thousand people at the arena and millions of people watching the event unfold on national television. A choked-up Stephanie had said yes, and, like an ecstatic idiot, he'd believed her to have actually meant what she'd promised him. Test shook his head. How naïve he'd been back then. 

But then, of course, Linda McMahon just had to fly Stephanie over to Las Vegas for her bachelorette party. Now that he thought about it, Linda certainly seemed to have a knack for ruining all of Stephanie's relationships, first with Test by giving Hunter an opportunity to marry the youngest McMahon in Sin City, then sending over the videotape exposing the false pregnancy to Hunter right before the night he and Stephanie were supposed to renew their vows. But Test was focusing his anger on the wrong McMahon. Either way, he had been shattered when he'd found out about Stephanie's secret--albeit very drunk--marriage to Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and had taken off...only to return to find out that Stephanie had not only settled into married life with Hunter, but had also gone as far as shedding her little girl image to align herself with the dirtiest player in the game and clock her own father with a sledgehammer while he was fighting for her honor. 

Stephanie might not have known it back then--and she probably still didn't know it, even now--but contrary to popular belief, Test's entire world had been flipped upside down when he'd found out about her crossing over to the dark side, and not on the day of their marriage that wasn't to be. Because at least when he'd found out about Hunter secretly marrying his fiancée, he could make up dozens of excuses on Stephanie's behalf. She had been drunk, she had been drugged, it had probably been a pretty wild party, and she'd done some things she would later regret, it was all Hunter's fault, Hunter was a conniving little son of a bitch...But, now that Stephanie had gone and flat out aligned herself with Hunter, going as far as turning on her own father, Test could no longer delude himself into believing that she was still the sweet little girl he'd fallen shyly in love with. She had found the McMahon in her, after twenty-two years, and was apparently determined to make up for lost time. 

Later, Test had found out that Stephanie had been immensely hurt that he'd just run away from the problem and seemingly abandoned her, and that that had been the main reason she'd joined up with Hunter--not to get back at Daddy Dearest, but to get back at him. And while he couldn't exactly say that he didn't share even a tiny portion of the blame, he certainly didn't think that the disaster was entirely his fault. After all, who wouldn't be crushed to find out that the girl of his dreams, who had just promised to spend the rest of her life with you, had been secretly wedded off to one of the most ruthless, manipulative men in the industry? It might not have been the best solution on his part to run off like that, but, after eventually calming down, he had realized that, just like all those countless times in which Vince and Shane had attempted to break them up, he was fiercely willing to fight for their relationship. And, just as he was about to go tell Stephanie that, he'd found out that she had announced her alliance with Hunter. Before that, he hadn't deemed it possible to have his heart broken twice by the same girl in so short a period...but apparently, just as he had been wrong about Stephanie's sweet innocence, so had he been way off about his immunity from heartbreak. Way, way off. 

After his disastrous first brush with love, Test had strayed away from the McMahon-Helmsley faction. The next time he'd encountered Stephanie was during their days working together with the Alliance, and even back then, he'd cautiously made sure to never get too close to her. Granted, he'd done her that one favor, and fought and beat Chris Jericho--the same man she was now aligned with to ironically fight against Hunter--but he had been determined to make that his last little favor to Stephanie. And, so far, he was keeping to his promise. 

* * *

Test watched as a screaming and kicking Stephanie was finally dragged away from the arena, while Triple H gloated in the ring. Despite the fact that he hated Hunter's very being, Test couldn't help but share his mirth, as he felt a smirk tug at his own lips. Daddy Vince was probably in the back right now, yelling at his lawyers and pulling his hair out as he watched his precious daughter get hauled off. Test didn't have to think twice to make up his mind that, as far as he was concerned, Vince could take as long as he wanted before finding away to weasel out of the deal his daughter had agreed to with Triple H, and hire Stephanie back into the company. As for Test himself, he had once loved the woman now known as the Billion Dollar Princess, but he had been young and naïve back then, eager for his very first taste of true love. And that was what was so ironic about this whole situation. Despite the fact that Test hated, with his heart and soul, the woman known as Stephanie McMahon, the woman who had broken his heart, and whom he found himself still bitterly angry at three years later, he had to give her credit for also being the first girl he'd ever truly loved. 

_Shot through the heart_   
_And you're to blame_   
_You give love a bad name_   
_I play my part and you play your game_   
_You give love a bad name_   
_You give love a bad name_


End file.
